The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for aligning and securing a door jamb.
Conventional wooden door framing generally comprises a hinge side cripple or door buck secured to an adjacent wall stud, a knob side cripple or door buck secured to an adjacent wall stud, and a frame header which extends across the tops of, and is connected to, the cripples. The door frame and floor supporting the frame define a door opening within which to receive a door jamb, to which a door is or may be connected. A conventional wooden door jamb comprises a hinge side adapted to be connected to the hinge side cripple, a knob side adapted to be connected to the knob side cripple, and a jamb header which extends between and is connected to the jamb sides on the uppermost ends thereof.
Although the door jamb may be properly aligned at the time it is initially installed within a door opening, a shifting foundation or other factor may cause the door jamb to lose its alignment, thereby causing the door to "stick" or fail to open and close properly. Further, loss of door jamb alignment may result in inefficient heating and/or cooling of the enclosure to which the door opening permits access and/or alter the proper operation of a locking mechanism associated with the door. Correction of such disalignment generally requires the costly procedure of removing the jamb from the frame and resetting the jamb. Alternatively, a portion of the door may be cut or planed down, thereby damaging the door. The foregoing realignment procedures are particularly undesirable in circumstances where it is necessary to repeatedly realign the door jamb. Further, the standard connection of a wooden door jamb to a wooden frame provides only minimal security against the unauthorized separation of the jamb from the door frame.